Nick’s Walk

I have been listening to David Jeremiah’s teachings on Heaven and reading Francis Chan’s Erasing Hell. I am much more comfortable listening to talk about heaven than I am reading about hell. I guess that puts me in the same category as most Christians. Roughly 9 in 10 Americans believe in God.  At the same time, only 7 in 10 profess belief in the Devil and in hell. That’s a bad case of biblical cherry picking. Obviously it’s much more pleasant to consider there’s a heaven than it is to contemplate hell. But scripture teaches the reality of both. It’s interesting that studies show that the knowledge of hell is more likely to keep us on the straight and narrow, than are just thoughts of clouds and angels. Someone actually did a study which revealed that people that believe in hell are less likely to commit crimes than those who believe only in heaven. Check it out if you think you can follow a psychological study.  I have to wonder about someone who would decide to do such a study.  Of course God is way ahead of psychologists and sociologists. He filled scripture with references to both heaven and hell. He also […]

Romans 8:38-39 New International Version (NIV) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,nor any powers, that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Does it sometimes seem God is mad at you? I hope you said, “yes.” There is some comfort in knowing that I am not the only one. I certainly sometimes feel that God must be mad at me. I feel that way now. I know it’s not very spiritual. I know it’s not theologically correct.  The problem is that feelings are not directly connected to knowledge. It doesn’t do any good for someone to tell you that it’s not so. That doesn’t change how you feel. I guess part of the problem is that if I was God, I might be mad at me. It doesn’t do any good to know that I am not God and God is much more loving than I am.  I can tell you that God isn’t mad at you. If you don’t feel that, I totally understand. Be blessed. Nick

  Our Pastor had a great sermon on Sunday, “Synced with God.” I have never been above stealing good stuff for my blog so I do so again today. At least I admit my thievery. I figure that until Pastor Jason starts blogging his stuff is fair game. Most Christians operate in “airplane mode.” In that mobile phone mode, there is no outside communication. Everything that is already on the phone is available but nothing new comes in. But God wants to communicate with us daily. He has fresh words for us. He wants to speak life into our hearts. We want to be on the same page with God, don’t we? If that were all the sermon was about, it would been great. But Pastor went on to suggest how we can be synced with God. 1. We need to be spirit filled – baptized in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that if we simply ask for the Spirit it will be given. Don’t make it more complicated than that; but don’t skip this step. Spirit communicates with spirit. We can’t be synced without the Spirit. 2. Lean into the truth. In the midst of the political season […]

I have been sorting and editing the 246 pictures we have taken thus far on our vacation. Most of them taken by the kids. We have been overwhelmed by the fall beauty around us.  I wanted to provide a representative pic to accompany this post. I finally settled on this scene. It’s what we see standing on the deck of our cabin. The kids have played in the river apparently unaffected by the chilly fall temperatures. The sound of the rushing water has worked its calming  magic on all of us.  As we discussed yesterday with Nick and Sammie, how can anyone upon seeing this beauty, still not believe in God. We are surrounded by evidence not only that there is a God, but that He is a great God. Consider that what we see is but a filtered view of His greatness.  I love an old Keith Green song in which he marvels at the beauty of the earth and speculates on the magnificence of heaven considering “He’s been working on heaven for 2000 years.”  Our Lord You are Great. And greater still when we consider that you consider us worth dying for. We are overwhelmed and well […]

I am wrapping up a week long vacation with my grandkids. It has been great in many ways. It has been a time of relaxation, refreshment and fun. Perhaps the highlight of this times has been the rediscovery of what a wonder my grandkids are. I wish I had kept a log of the many wonderful things that came out of their mouths this week. It’s so easy to forget that even kids have insight. There is much we can learn from those who have lived much less time. They may not have the wisdom of years; but they have fresh perspective unclouded by years of living. They haven’t lost enthusiasm or had their curiosity blunted. As just one example, we had planned to take them to Dollywood, the most prominent attraction in the area. There are no lack of attractions from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg. These mountain folk have figured every possible way to separate flatlanders from their money. Rose and I were a bit concerned about our planned day in Dollywood not at all sure we would be able to keep up with a 8 and 10 year old. After reviewing stacks of brochures and numerous trips […]

I came upon this photo while browsing on Facebook. It expresses great theology. Summarized it means in every circumstance, there’s God. The joyful and fulfilled person is God centered. The rest of us are self-centered.  It seems we are constantly turning our focus away from Him. In happy times, we feel we are responsible for our joy. In difficult times, we blame God instead of seeking Him. Every thing comes to us filtered through the love of God.  When we are self-centered, life is a series of problems, crises, pains and troubles. When we are God Centered, life becomes an exciting adventure of opportunity, joy and miracles. I am not saying that the Christian walk is easy or problem free. Believe me I’m not saying that. What I am saying that the impact of our circumstances is determined by our focus and attitude. My friend Joey Langlinais put it this way:  In Deuteronomy 32:11, we read that an eagle will stir up her nest, flutters over her young, spreads her wings and takes the young eagles upon her wings. When the momma eagle takes the young on her wing, she soars to great heights with them. Then she lurches […]

For God so loved his one and only Son, in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 As I write this morning I can hear a mountain stream. We are at our vacation spot. Our arrival yesterday was interesting. This is indeed a popular time to come to the Smokies and the nearby towns are packed with tourists. The restaurants are full and the streets are jammed. But here at the cabin it is isolated and quiet. We have to traverse a one lane mountain road to get to the cabin. I’m not sure what happens if we meet another vehicle. Maybe I’ll tell be able to tell you that story later in the week. When not listening to the stream I am listening to God Loves You – He Always Has and He Always Will.  I started listening this morning and have to admit I dozed off in parts. Not because the book isn’t interesting; it really is. I just did too much driving in the last two days. Listening to snatches of the book and comparing the crowds in town and the solitude out here has me thinking. God is amazing. When we are told that He […]

In the United States nearly 20% of Adults are “religiously unaffiliated” according to the latest research produced by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life this week. More Americans than ever before don’t identify with any type of organized religion. This number has increased by 5% in the past five years, and it appears to be a growing trend. Of the 46 million Americans who label themselves as “unaffiliated” to any type of religion, the predominant age group is between 18-22, where a staggering 32% of them labeled themselves as ‘unaffiliated’. I view these statistics with mixed emotions. There is no doubt that in a large part these statistics reflect a movement away from God. This study also concludes that the number of atheists and agnostics has reached an all time high, covering 6% of the American population. A movement away from God is a bad thing. We all need a relationship with God more than any other relationship. We were not designed to exist divorced from Him, and doing so has inevitable consequences in our lives. Many of our needs as human beings can only be fulfilled through our relationship with God, such as true peace, true security and purpose. It’s […]